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| La Defense | ||
| region | Île-de-France | |
|---|---|---|
| Residents | unknown | |
no value for residents on Wikidata:  | ||
| height | 53 m | |
| no tourist info on Wikidata: | ||
| location | ||
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La Defense is a satellite city with 150,000 jobs and 20,000 inhabitants. Europe's largest office city with numerous high-rise buildings is located west of Paris on the extension of the Champs Elyseé. The landmark is the Grande Arche de la Defense, which is in a line of sight with the Arc de Triomphe, Champs Elysees and the former royal palace (the Louvre).
background
Administratively, the cities of Courbevoie, Nanterre and Puteaux share the 160 hectare area on which many French companies are based.
The city was planned in 1958 and built over the following decades. Old factory and residential buildings had to give way. In La Defense, the traffic levels are segregated. On the surface there is a 40 hectare pedestrian area. The access roads and parking spaces are under the plate, as are the railway lines, the metro and trams.
getting there
La Defense is accessed by a tangle of mostly cross-free streets that run under the city. The probability that those unfamiliar with the location will hit the right exit straight away is almost zero. A lack of turning opportunities and numerous French friends in the rear-view mirror make traveling by car inadvisable, especially since La Defense is easily accessible by public transport.
The central transport hub is 1 La Defense train station. Regional trains from Paris-Gare St-Lazare in the direction of Versailles, RER line A, metro line 1 and tram line 2 stop here. La Defense is in Zatifzone 3, the only way to get there is by metro at the city rate. More metro stations are 2 Metro La Defense Grand Ark and 3 Metro Esplanade de la Defense.
The easiest way to get to La Defense from the Paris airports is by RER (change in Chatelet-Les Halles), the most expensive and not necessarily the fastest by taxi, which costs around 50 euros.
Tourist Attractions
Churches
- 1 Notre-Dame de Pentecote. Most of the time the church towers tower above the town houses. Here the church doesn't even try, it just adapts to the surrounding area with the modern architectural style.
Buildings
Skyscrapers, skyscrapers, skyscrapers, according to the planning as an office city, it goes high. Most of France's large companies have their headquarters here, 16 of the 20 tallest buildings in France are in La Defense. And construction and demolition continues, the first-generation office towers are gradually being replaced by even taller skyscrapers.
- 2 La Grande Arche.
Optical counterpoint to the Arc de Triomphe in the axis of the Champs Elysees, 110 m high arch with offices in the flanks and roof. Viewing platform.
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- 3 Center des nouvelles industries et technologies, 2 Place de la Defense.Once a convention center, now more like a shopping mall.
Monuments
- 4 La Defense de Paris, Monument in memory of the defense of Paris 1870/71, eponymous for the district.
Museums
Spread across La Défense there are works by various artists in a kind of open-air museum. An overview can be found here.
Streets and squares
- Le Parvis
Parks
various
activities
shop
In the CNIT and opposite in the Quatre Temps there are shopping centers that cover all everyday needs.
kitchen
Cheap
medium
Upscale
nightlife
Cheap
medium
Upscale
accommodation
La Défense offers numerous upscale hotels that are primarily geared towards business travelers. Often there is a notice at the hotel entrances showing the current daily prices in addition to the regular prices. Because of the location directly on the Paris metro line from east (metro station Château De Vincennes) to west (metro station La Defense (Grande Arche)) M1 is particularly suitable for the area around the stations La Défense (Grande Arche) and Esplanade De La Défense, especially for weekend stays, as a lodging for tourists, as very cheap tariffs are often available in advance on the internet, still well below the reduced daily prices. Both Esplanade and Grande Arche are still in tariff zone 3.
Cheap
medium
Upscale
- 1 Pullman Paris La Defense, 11 avenue de l'Arche, 92400 Courbevoie. Tel.: 33 1 47 17 50 00. A business hotel close to the terminus of the M1 and des metro stops Grand Ark located. Often cheap weekend offers, also with breakfast buffet, on the website of the hotel chain.
Practical advice
- 1 Espace Info Défense, 15 Place de la Defense, 92974 Courbevoie. Tel.: 33 1 47 74 84 24. Open: Mon - Fri 9 a.m. - 6 p.m., Sat Sun 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.
